With average premiums well in excess of £1,000 on some makes and models, we reveal the most affordable (and costliest) cars to insure.
Owning a car doesn’t come cheap.
First, there’s the price tag of the vehicle itself to consider, and how fuel efficient it is ‒ the less well a car runs, the more you’ll have to pay out at the pump.
Insurance is another key consideration, with sky-high premiums costing drivers hundreds of pounds per year.
In fact, it’s not unusual for motorists to pay out more than £1,000 per year for their cover.
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The cheapest cars to insure
Unsurprisingly, your choice of car is one of the key factors in determining your insurance bill.
While some models tend to attract more modest premiums, others can be particularly expensive to cover.
So which are the cheapest to insure?
A new study from price comparison site Go.Compare looks at just that, revealing the 10 cheapest cars to insure in 2024.
Coming in as the most budget-friendly, the Peugeot 206 has an average premium of just £241.
Furthermore, each of the top 10 cheapest cars to insure has a typical cost of below £300.
Ranking |
Car |
Average cost to insure |
1 |
Peugeot 206 |
£241 |
2 |
Porsche Boxster |
£243 |
3 |
Mazda MX-5 |
£249 |
4 |
Toyota iQ |
£262 |
5 |
Citroen Xsara |
£272 |
6 |
Smart fortwo |
£282 |
7 |
Suzuki Grand |
£283 |
8 |
Land Rover Freelander |
£288 |
9 |
Renault Kangoo |
£297 |
10 |
Fiat Panda |
£299 |
Some surprising results
At first glance, there are some unexpected entries on the list.
Most of us probably wouldn’t expect to see sporty brands such as Porsche or Mazda in a ranking of the cheapest cars to insure.
However, driving a premium car doesn’t automatically mean you’ll have to pay through the nose for your insurance.
As Go.Compare points out, roadsters such as the Mazda MX-5 are a favourite of older, more experienced drivers.
These motorists often have clean driving records and have built up years of no-claims discounts, which helps keep premiums down.
If a car has top-of-the-line safety equipment, it may also qualify for cheaper cover since it’s less likely to be involved in an accident.
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The most expensive cars to insure
What about the other end of the scale, the cars that end up attracting the beefiest insurance premiums?
According to Go.Compare’s data, the Porsche Taycan is the priciest car to insure, with an average premium of £1,200.
This is closely followed by the Tesla Model Y and Land Rover Range Rover Velar, with an average cost of £1,133 and £1,091 respectively.
Ranking |
Car |
Average cost to insure |
1 |
Porsche Taycan |
£1,200 |
2 |
Tesla Model Y |
£1,133 |
3 |
Land Rover Range Rover Velar |
£1,091 |
4 |
BMW M4 |
£1,091 |
5 |
Mercedes-Benz AMG |
£989 |
6 |
Land Rover Range Rover Sport |
£943 |
7 |
BMW 330e |
£923 |
8 |
Mercedes-Benz GLE |
£913 |
9 |
Audi e-tron |
£899 |
10 |
Tesla Model 3 |
£896 |
As Go.Compare points out, this list is dominated by large, fast and powerful vehicles.
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What about younger drivers?
It’s worth bearing in mind that it can be a very different story for younger motorists.
While some premium models end up relatively cheap to insure on an average basis, this often reflects a typical owner’s age and safe driving record.
If, however, a younger and less experienced driver is behind the wheel, the costs of cover can escalate significantly.
This means that two drivers owning the same vehicle could end up paying significantly different premiums.
Here are the 10 motors picked out by Go.Compare as delivering the cheapest premiums for drivers under the age of 25.
Ranking |
Car |
Average premium |
1 |
Audi A3 |
£1,237 |
2 |
Vauxhall Astra |
£1,200 |
3 |
Volkswagen Golf |
£1,197 |
4 |
Ford Focus |
£1,174 |
5 |
Mercedes-Benz A180 |
£1,157 |
6 |
Peugeot 208 |
£1,134 |
7 |
Audi A1 |
£1,084 |
8 |
Ford Fiesta |
£1072 |
9 |
Volkswagen Polo |
£1,053 |
10 |
SEAT Leon |
£1,045 |
As you can see, those costs are far more substantial than what you would pay with greater levels of experience behind the wheel.
And unlike the overall cheapest list, there are certainly no premium brands and models in the ranking.
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Keeping car insurance costs low
A wide range of factors go into calculating our insurance premiums. Providers essentially go through your circumstances to determine how likely they are to have to pay out a claim.
This process goes beyond your age and driving record and also includes factors such as your job and marital status.
If you work in an industry that involves a lot of time driving, then you may end up paying more.
That’s because greater time spent on the road means you’re statistically more likely to be caught up in an accident.
Likewise, if you are married and have your spouse named on the insurance policy, statistics suggest that you will be more cautious behind the wheel.
Your postcode also plays a part in determining your bill as areas with high levels of car crime attract higher premiums.
Similarly, where you park at night ‒ for example in a locked garage, rather than on the street ‒ will also have an impact.
Check out our guide to the simple steps you can follow to keep your car insurance costs as low as possible.